Spotlight JDM: Hardcore Tokyo and +81 LIKE Hellaflush Stance Show

One of the most prolific event holders in the central Japan area, Hardcore Tokyo co-hosted a stance show a few weeks ago in Chiba. The main event promoters, +81 Like Hellaflush, are not so well known, so without the help of the guys at Hardcore, we would have never known about it. In any case, we had the Sunday off, so we headed across Tokyo Bay in search of the camber maniacs.

Before even making our way over to the event space, the parking area across the street had something that caught our eye; a widebody-kitted Toyota 86. The rear overfenders, diffuser, and wing come from Rocket Bunny, but the car’s owner opted to throw on a small front fender flare instead of the Rocket Bunny ones. The front splitter and sideskirts appear to be from Chargespeed. All together it makes for a mean-looking ride.

Here’s something you don’t see often, a four-door R33 Skyline, and a modded one at that! It only sported a big drop on the suspension and some lightweight MB Battle wheels (which if you were intro drifting 10 years ago, would be very familiar to you). R33 sedans are not exactly popular with the mainstream stance guys, or any of the car modding crowds really, but we actually like them, and this one was fairly simply done.

After entering the show we were greeted by another rare sight, perhaps even super-rare given the fact that this car is from Australia – anyone care to guess it? If you said a 2015 Holden HSV GTS Maloo LSA, you’d not only be right, but probably out of breath and a little confused as well.

In any case, this UTE as they are called down under (a car/truck amalgam like the Chevy El Camino or Subaru Brat) is packed with the same engine that is found in the Camaro ZL1 and Cadillac CTS-V, the supercharged 6.2-liter LSA. It certainly looks a little strange, but with 580 horsepower and 550 pound-feet of torque it will not only haul ass, but haul your trailer too. Oh and it will stop on a 10-yen coin too, thanks to the AP Racing six piston brakes both in front and rear. Imported by Sleipnir in Chiba, the car has been wrapped in a carbon fiber print and “upgraded” with some Giovanna Dublin 5 wheels. We prefer the stock wheels actually, but to each their own.

Keeping with the trend of things we hardly see, this JZA70 Toyota Supra (dubbed the Mark III in the States) was keeping things funky with a wacky purple paint job and widebody kit. The popups have been replaced with fog lights and the 2.5 Twin Turbo badge has been bedazzled, which leaves us wondering if the owner is actually a girl.

Perhaps there is more to it however, as the car does in fact sport a gigantic front mount intercooler and a set of GREX brake calipers hidden under Weds Kranze LXZ wheels. Getting your ass handed to you on the highway by a car like this one would sting a bit.

Of course Hardcore Tokyo had their very own car there as well, a Zenki Nissan 180SX. Completely in the style of the early 2000s USDM drifting scene, this turquoise pignose S13 had stolen our attention for more than a while. Rolled and pulled fenders house an old school set of super dished wheels, BBS RS mesh, and the whole thing is slammed on its frame rails. We couldn’t help but smile at the sticker on the rear windshield, “incompetence”, because to run the car this stupid-low and with that much negative camber requires just that. Sleepy eye pop-ups and an original (hard to find these days) OEM front lip complete the look. The only thing off was the 200SX rear center panel – it should have been a 240SX one! Very well done.

On the flip side was this Zenki S14 Nissan Silvia, which looked more Mad Max than Mad Mike (you know, the rotary loving Redbull drifter). Handmade sheetmetal front fender flares mated with Origin rear overfenders allowed for some wider wheels.

The front end has seen better days, with the Navan bumper being slashed up to accommodate a large front mount intercooler. The grill and headlights have been removed as well; in its place sit four round sealed beam units. This car is definitely a drift missile.

Riding on air suspension by ACC Inc Japan and fitted with Avantgarde F260 wheels, this Toyota Soarer/Lexus SC430 was looking pretty fly. The custom body work was done by Eternal K north of Tokyo a bit in Saitama. We especially liked the color matching projector housing rings in the headlights. A little detail that goes a long way.

Alright, so the next thing we happened upon was a bit insane. We couldn’t figure out what the hell the car was at first. The rear is from a Honda DC5 Integra, the interior is from a Nissan S15 Silvia, and the front is from, well actually we haven’t a clue.

After closer inspection we remembered that Nissan had made a few convertible S15s called the Varietta, and in fact the dashboard had that badge attached. So our guess is that someone chopped one up for giggles.

Two huge NOS bottles sit behind the seats and the air conditioning vents have been replaced with gauges – in fact the whole dashboard is fitted with every gauge known to man. We didn’t get a chance to talk to the owner, but if we did we’d have asked if this was actually a time machine built in 2001.

There was only one R35 at the event and it was brought there by Skipper Dezigns, a company that deals in mostly “VIP” car products. It featured their complete aero kit which includes, front and rear wide fenders, sideskirts, front and rear diffusers, and a rear ducktail wing.

We were not exactly huge fans of the “dezign” as it looked a bit like Hannibal Lecter went to town on cutting random slits in the body work. We could maybe forgive Skipper if the vents were functional, but in actuality they aren’t even real vents! All of the black spaces you see in the fenders are actually just carbon fiber decals. What is up with that? Especially considering the price tag of the kit, a mind blowing $8,000 USD for the FRP version and $11,000 for the carbon counterpart.

Now for a kit that actually is worth the money – how about the Rocket Bunny Boss S14 conversion? We’re sure you’ve seen it before, but this one with its BRE Racing-inspired livery is a great example of how good the kit looks. It literally transforms the car into something entirely new.

The whole front end is replaced with Kei Miura’s own design. The rear bumper delete and fender mirrors are a nice touch that further enhance the raw image of the car. A set of Frontline FLD-01 wheels are something we have never seen before, and we gotta say, they look pretty good!

This car was actually one of the show winners, and for good reason too, because we have never seen a heavily stanced Nissan March such as this one. It almost makes us consider getting one, until we realized that it is in fact Nissan’s most economical car and running one as low and with as much negative camber as this will result in a very crappy ride. Gotta give props to the owner for doing something unique though. Who evens makes an aero kit for these things?

Another show winner, this Daihastu Move from 502 Factory was as over-the-top as kei-vans come. The interior is straight out of a Baskin-Robbins sampler and the massive rear diffuser and wing are so ridiculous that it’s cool. Not to mention the widebody fenders and custom front end. That’s not even the best part – the headlight turns like a Gatling gun!

Even a Bosozoku car showed up to the event. It is difficult to see, but under all the custom fiberglass work there sits an X80 Toyota Mark II. Really encapsulating the style, this X80 features a sharknose hood, rear tail light and bumper shave, quarter panel modification and of course a set of SSR Reverse Mesh wheels.

And rounding out the day, our favorite car at the show – this late 80s Ferrari Mondial 3.2 Cabriolet. We’d never actually seen one in person before, and for good reason. It isn’t one of Ferrari’s proudest moments in car design. However, the owner of this one dropped the car on some ultra-rare Work Equip 01 5-spoke wheels and it looks magnificent. We’d certainly rock the hell out of it.

So, a Sunday well-spent gawking at the members of the Cult of Camber came to an end, and even though we are not exactly into the stance scene, we could appreciate the fact that in the end it all comes down to one thing – the love of cars.